Formable sheet having pile fabric secured to both surfaces



Dec. 27, 1966 G. c. STRADER 3,293,796

FORMABLE SHEET HAVING FILE FABRIC SECURED TO BOTH SURFACES Filed April 19, 1965 United States Patent Ofiice 3,293,796 FORMABLE SHEET HAVING PILE FABRIC SECURED T BOTH SURFACES George C. Strader, San Dimas, Calif., assignor to Wham-0 Manufacturing Company, San Gabriel, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Apr. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 449,104 2 Claims. (Cl. 46-156) This invention relates to a formable toy animal.

Formable animals are a highly desirable toy because they provide excellent amusement value for children and serve to encourage the development of spatial thinking and artistic ability. Toys of this type available in the past have often been constructed of separately jointed or articulated parts. Such toys are expensive to produce, and are susceptible to breakage. Formable toys have also been produced from clay or moldable plastic, but these toys are bulky and heavy unless made in only small sizes. Furthermore, it is difficult for a child to establish the initial shape of a clay or plastic animal, and it is not always practical for a manufacturer to provide desired decorative features on this type of material.

The formable animal of this invention overcomes these disadvantages, and provides a simple and inexpensive toy which has great appeal to children. The toy is initially in the form of a flat simulated animal hide or skin, but can be easily formed and re-formed into many threedimensional shapes which will be retained by the toy. The flat configuration is especially advantageous for shipping or storage because many individual toys can be stacked in a small volume.

Briefly stated, the formable toy animal of this invention comprises a flexible, simulated animal hide. Bonded to the back of the hide are means for imparting to the hide the quality of shape retention. The toy can be formed and re-formed as often as desired into a variety of shapes, and the shape will be retained upon removal of the forming force.

In one form, the toy animal is assembled by bonding to the back of a simulated animal hide a liner of metal foil. The foil is sufficiently pliable to permit the laminated foil and hide to be formed with compound curves into various lifelike postures, but the foil is also sufiiciently stiff to retain a given shape when the forming force is removed. Other types of shape-retaining means are also suitable, such as certain plastic materials, wovenwire assemblies, spray-on materials, etc.

The toy animal can also be assembled in a two-sided reversible configuration, whereby one animal appears on one side of the toy, and a second animal appears on the reverse side. In one form, this configuration is assembled by laminating together the two hides with a metal-foil liner sandwiched between the backs of the hides. The reversible style is especially appealing to children, and provides the equivalent of two separate toy animals.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more fully understood from the following discussion and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the underside of a toy animal;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a toy animal which has been formed into a three-dimensional shape; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of an alternative form of the invention.

The starting point of the invention is to fashion a simulated animal hide. In a preferred form of the invention, the simulated hide is cut from a piece of fiat material in a shape corresponding substantially to the shape of a splayed or spread hide of the animal being simulated. Thus in FIG. 1, a toy dog includes a hide 11 cut to he general outline of the spread hide of a dog. The

simulated hide has a body portion 12, rear legs 13, front legs 14, tail 15, and head 16.

The simulated hide may be cut from many different types of material such as plastic, cloth, leather, etc. A particularly suitable material is a long-map pile material of acrylic or modacrylic plastic filaments woven into a liner is cut to substantially the same outline as the hide,

and is secured to the hide by stapling, cementing, stitching or any other convenient means.

Other materials can also be used to impart the quality of shape retention to the simulated animal hide. For example, I have found that certain sheet plastic materials have the property of shape retention and may be easily bonded to the simulated hide. Laminates of sheet plastic and metallic wire are also suitable as a liner.

It is to be understood that a separate liner is not a necessary part of the invention. For example, an alternate method of construction is to impregnate the back of the simulated hide with wax. Certain sprayable materials can also be used to impart the quality of shape retention. Many different methods'of construction are practical, the essential requirement being to supply the property of shape retention without destroying the pliability of the simulated hide.

In FIG. 2, the initially flat hide shown in FIG. 1 has been formed into a three-dimensional representation of a dog. Decorative accessories such as eyes 21 and nose 22 are normally included on the top surface of hide 11. The toy dog may be formed and re-formed into a variety of amusing postures, and each shape will be retained after removal of the forming force due to the formretaining qualities of liner 19. The laminated assembly of the hide and liner is sufiiciently flexible to permit forming into almost any desired shape.

In FIG. 3 the invention is shown in the form of a reversible two-sided animal. A first furry hide 25 is secured to form-retaining liner 27. The other side of liner 27 is then secured to back of a second furry hide 29. The hides and liner may be secured together by cementing, stitching, stapling or any other convenient means.

The first and second hides can be of different colors and textures to represent two different animals. Thus, for example, hide 25 could be of white, long-nap pile material cut in the form of a cat. Hide 29 might be black long-nap pile material cut to the same general outline. The laminated hides and liner can then be formed into either a white cat or a black cat depending on which way the laminate is bent. While hides of simulated fur are especially appealing to children, other materials are of course also suitable.

It is to be understood that the term animal is used in a broad sense, and that the principle of this invention can be used with dolls having a human form, as well as with many different types of animals.

I claim:

1. A reversible blank for forming a toy animal, comprising first and second flexible, simulated animal hides, each hide having a front surface of a pile material with the appearance of fur, the hides being initially fiat and having an initial shape corresponding substantially to a spread hide of an animal being simulated, shape-retaining means disposed between the backs of the hides, and means Patented Dec. 27, 1966 for securing together the shape-retaining means and the hides, the shape-retaining; means having the properties of shape retention and flexibility, permitting the toy to be repeatedly formed into a variety of amusing shapes which will be retained upon removal of a forming force.

2. A blank for forming a reversible toy animal, comprising first and second flexible, simulated animal hides, each hide having a front surface of a pile material with the appearance of fur, liner means including a flexible foil disposed between the backs of the hides, the foil having the property of shape retention, permitting the toy to be formed into a variety of amusing shapes which will be retained upon removal of a forming force, and means for securing together the liner means and hides.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 290,831 12/1883 Allen. 1,445,070 2/ 1923 Clune. 1,638,594 8/1927 Myers 46156 X 2,412,321 12/1946 Chu et al 46 -157 2,715,089 8/1955 Michener et al. 3,158,518 11/1964 Kessler 15672 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,991 7/ 1908 Great Britain.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. F. BARRY SHAY, Examiner. 

1. A REVERSIBLE BLANK FOR FORMING A TOY ANIMAL, COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND FLEXIBLE, SIMULATED ANIMAL HIDES, EACH HIDE HAVING A FRONT SURFACE OF A PILE MATERIAL WITH THE APPEARANCE OF FUR, THE HIDES BEING INITIALLY FLAT AND HAVING AN INITIAL SHAPE CORERESPONDING SUBSTANTIALLY TO A SPREAD HIDE OF AN ANIMAL BEING SIMULATED, SHAPE-RETAINING MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN THE BACKS OF THE HIDES, AND MEANS 